Dutch employers are increasingly gloomy about the prospects for the jobs market with more expecting to cut jobs than take on staff over the next three months, according to a survey by Manpower.

It is the first time the quarterly Manpower survey has been negative since the US staffing agency began measuring Dutch employer attitudes in 2003.
Some 6% of 750 employers polled said they would cut staff while 3% expect to expand their workforce over the next three months.
The Dutch economy is largely service-based and is feeling the effects of the recession later than more production-orientated economies.
‘Companies had made a lot of effort to take on people, and you don’t just let them go. But some companies now have no choice,’ a Manpower spokesman told the Telegraaf.